Retired Engineers

Thank you kvsridhar for your enlightenment on retirement.

It people like you that keeps me coming back to CR4 for inspiration.

GA

Retirement takes many forms and it depends on several factors. One may retire because he hates the job; One may like his job, but is let go for budget reasons and finds he cannot find a new job that is suitable, so takes retirement. After retirement, for whatever reason, some may have the finances to actually retire and some do not have the finances to retire. Those who do, will pursue their interests, like golf, travel, hobbies or socialization. Those who don't, have limited options available to them. Most of them have to try to re-enter the work force; not so easy in this economic decline. Another factor is where you live. In the U.S., we have a mulitude of interests available. In your country, I think the choice of interests may be a lot different and less varied.

I would like to clarify, here in India retirement is compulsory at age of 58 or 60. Many of us are still in prime of our health and physically fit to work.I understand that in western countries retirement age is 65 years but one can continue job as long as he wishes except he is not entitled for retirement benefits.

Some persons like me have made fixed schedule and manage the day with activities like early morning walk, going for gym or yoga centre,surfing internet, spending time with grand children, doing some petty jobs for home etc. Some take up part time consultation work or work full time with other firms.While some get bored by sitting at home doing nothing and feeling depressed.

We have pension scheme for retired persons so economically they are sound and many have saved for their retirement age.

My Elec engineer Dad had always thought the front bedroom on his house was a bit narrow so, when he retired, he took all the bricks off, cleaned them, moved the wall one brick width out and rebuilt the wall etc.

That was a year well spent (then he noticed the back bedroom was a bit narrow as well).

After retiring finding job is not difficult but there may be no job-satisfaction.You may be forced to get instructions from less-experienced foolish guys supported by MD and other office staff

well i retired in 2005 and find it exiting to take up any thing that cones my way as a consultant,at 63 i am learning auto cad .its interacting with younger people that drives me to learn new fields of engineering.its grate to retire!

murali

How similar to mine ! i started learning 3D CAD (Solidworks) and mechanical analysis (VisualNastran 4D) after retirement, since my first client needed them. What a wonderful time i had !

And like you, i interact with young people in many fields, and am fascinated by technology.

It is also very fulfilling to teach people whatever i know, so that some part of me will live on after me.

i did not expect to be teaching software to the youngsters, but i am doing it nowadays

Are you refering to our old Hindu Culture of first 25 years for Brahamacharya (Studentship Unmarried Life), next 25 years for Grahasth (Married Family Life), next 25 years for Vanprasth (Leaving family and Going to jungle for meditation), next 25 years for Sanyas (Disowning World and living in Asharam). But now a days very few survive to live 100 years.

Thank you for reminding me. May be my subconscious correlated the work culture and after all,the sanatana dharma is an embeddded system in all creatures.

I had forgotten to mention meditation as it has been a part of life (like breathing) ever since I turned six years, and I'm nearing seventy.

Thanks again!!

Yes. Better to practice all along and not wait. We never know if we will reach the 4th stage and miss the contemplative life entirely.

I still work a 2 day week. It's less stressful these days because I know that I can quit anytime.
I'm sure you all know my hoby, but just in case you don't, I made the one in the foreground.

I enjoy pottering about in the garden too, our first courgette of the year is just about big enough to eat. I enjoy art and crafts and dabble with painting and suchlike. If you click my username there are links to my stuff in my profile.
I define myself as 'a maker of things' (I break a few too)
Del

Del ,where are you in pic? targeting whom?

Can't see me, I'm holding the camera, the target is a flag about 190 yards away.
There were 3 bows made my me being shot that day.
Del

This makes me wonder if you had the chance to be involved with Kenneth Branagh's Henry V.

This is for those of you living in the UK, but the idea is equally applicable elsewhere. I belong to the local branch of a national charity called REMAP (don't ask me why, but it has a website at http://www.remap.org.uk/). Its mission is to use "ingenuity and skills to help people with disabilities to achieve much-desired independence in some aspect of their lives, or to enjoy leisure opportunities previously closed to them." The membership includes some very highly skilled engineers who are working in their retirement for the benefit of other less fortunate folk.

We meet once a month to consider a list of projects, the requests coming from the individuals concerned, their carers, or their occupational therapists.

I was "forced" to retire in 2007 - did some consulting then decided I was sick of the computer world and the drama of large corporations. So I stopped working in that field...did not start collecting my pension or SS until this year, so NOW I'm retired! I have a house that I live in and maintain along with our dogs that we raise. I'm renovating this house and constantly building things for the dog "kennel". I have another house that I'm almost finished with the renovations. I cut my own firewood, spent two days this week splitting 4 cords, will cut more during the summer. I drive limousine occasionally for the fun of it...pays for my gas. As I have heard many others say..." I don't know how I ever had time to work since I'm retired!" I can't stop doing things and find engineering things to help me in my "retirement" to be a lot of fun. I built a hoist and winch mechanism for my logging truck, designed several different gate mechanisms for dog kennels, designed and built a FHW multi-zone distribution manifold, and an electronic thermostat distribution panel. So I can't stop engineering but I sure did stop consulting in the computer industry. (I do get request to help friends set up home PCs and laptops but that's a far cry for a super computer installation! ) I go to sleep at night thinking about the things I'm designing and spend my days building them or figuring out why I can't. My wife says I spend time on CR4 so I can "pretend" I'm still an engineer...what does she know?

"My wife says I spend time on CR4 so I can "pretend" I'm still an engineer...what does she know?"

We all are engineers till we die.

Chose early "retirement" from industry in 2004 in order to return home but, after 44 years with one employer, it was probably time anyway. One of the conditions of my retirement was to consult for all business units of my former employer and I did that for a couple of years. Continued to consult for a couple of other companies (and still do) but also decided to found my own manufacturing company, manufacturing a unique product, primarily for electric utilities, based on one of my patents. I'm still President Emeritus of that company and Chief Technology Officer of another. Most days I could probably be busier than before retirement. However, the difference is that everything I choose to do these days is on my terms. My wife (of 49 years) and I now have the time and resources to pursue almost anything we might wish to do.

It's a lot more fun and as long as I remain reasonably mentally capable and in good physical condition I cannot imagine that I will ever completely retire. I'm an electrical engineer who still enjoys designing things and solving problems.

Running 73rd year.

Work full time as engineering scientist.

Yoga in the morning (for sixty years now), gardening one and half hours before going to work and an hour after return. Aerobics or walk alternate evenings. listening to classical music (South Indian/North Indian? Western), reading, meditation. No TV at all. No movies.

I don't know about the Yoga, my back doesn't bend that way anymore, but the no TV is a great idea. People seem to fill in large parts of their day watching drivel.

If I hear about another "reality" show where fat people ice dance while competing in a cook off I'll scream.

What a complete life ! i admire you and your lady wife, may God give you many more years !

It is magic of yoga that keeps you going at this age.Have long healthy life friend.

For many husbands a nagging wife becomes a problem. She doesn't like husband staying at home or keeping technical literature at home. She used to ask why the husband is keeping a lot of reference books at home but she has never seen him studying any.Unless the wife is an academic life will be miserable. She want the husband to be a servant.

We too are retired. (have time for CR-4) My wife does computer art. It all fits in a hard disk palm of hand size. So I have twice the room for books.

Here in Silicon Valley old people have lots of books. Young people are not interested. Everything for them is computer and internet. So when old ones die or get too weak and must live in a smaller place the books are given away or sent to recycling. My library is full of technical books and history books that were donated to public libraries. They sell these books for 50 cents or a dollar each. Sometime even free if not sold soon enough. Finds like 25 year old chemical engineering handbook and Roark's 5th edition 50 cents each. Early handbook of Physics and Chemistry for free. This information should be valid for as long as I live........

My wife likes to read new fiction books so she reserves them on line from the public library in town. I pick them up and return them on my shopping trips and usually bring one or two 50 cent finds home with me. Maybe two years I am running out of space and will have to "high grade" my collection and take the castoffs back to the same library. But that is much cheaper way to go than borrowing and paying fines. Good thing library computer now warns by email when books are due.

Ed Weldon

At plus fifty now, I have seen many of my superiors and friends retired in past years. One thing very distinctly I noticed in them. Who took-up some job immediately after retirement to keep themselves busy and enjoyed new job with fun, looked younger. Who took job just for sake of doing it, aging at same pace. Those who did not take-up any job and stayed at home looked aging much faster than earlier.

I am to retire by 2014.I have research work in engineering.check my bio data.Job for all classes of people is available.